recent user reviews

Related Guides

FIFA 14

Into Extra Time

Note: The main text is from the current-gen review, and the additions from the Xbox One version have been added below.

A certain predictability surrounds some of the club leagues around the world. Rich teams like Real Madrid, Juventus, and Manchester United drain drama from their respective leagues, where top honors are really only contested amongst a few clubs. While the FIFA franchise itself has turned into a predictable top-of-the-table juggernaut for EA Sports, that monotony masks some of the hard work that goes into the title and that which still needs to be done.

The changes in FIFA 14 can be felt throughout the game, and many of them add extra layers to the experience. Players’ actions in relation to the ball feel more free and unpredictable, leading to less reliance on canned animations. The fact that you have to be more careful with your first touch – lest you lose control of the ball – is a good change, and led me to be more thoughtful with my actions. This also dovetails nicely into another added aspect of FIFA 14’s gameplay – body shielding with the left trigger helped me keep possession, even if my careless first touches slowed down my attacks and got me into predicaments in the first place.

Some of the new features expand areas of the game, but don’t always make it a deeper experience. Look under the surface of the gameplay and despite its improvements, it falls into the same ruts. Canned sequences mean that tackles still magically send the ball straight to the feet of an opponent, true battles for 50-50 balls are rare, and players still fall down after routine shots or insignificant contact. Although my defensive AI showed less confusion in their own box, the defensive help button wasn’t extremely useful since my players often wouldn’t engage the opponent player when called. On the other hand, AI attackers still mess around with the ball too much and can blunt their own counter-attack with questionable decisions.

Elsewhere, Ultimate Team adds new ways to build chemistry via Chemistry Styles. While it makes it harder (and possibly more expensive) to build that perfect team, I like the flexibility to change players’ styles and attributes. If I want a certain player on my roster but my play style isn’t suited to his skills, now I have a way to make him more useful. I also like the way managers are more important thanks to the manager chemistry variable (as opposed to formations) and the fact that players have loyalty-based chemistry with your team. This is higher if you buy that player in a pack (vs. winning them, for example), which is a slight attempt to bring the fun back in buying packs instead of always hitting the transfer market for individual cards. Moreover, it seems like I was getting more coins while playing, which could also be another incentive to buy packs.

FIFA 14 also expands its breadth with the addition of co-op play to the Seasons format, and a new scouting mechanic for the Career mode. The latter tasks you with setting up scouting network (separate from the one for youth players) to do your due diligence for transfer signings. While it’s just a more convoluted way to get you to the same end result as last year, good scouts cost you money and it adds drama to the transfer windows. Different scouts can offer up different players, and the accuracy and speed at which you get their evaluations of players depends on the scout’s skills. Be sure to tweak your instructions to scouts, as this changes who they find. It’s frustrating when they come up empty – especially since there are only select countries they can visit – but you can also use the old search method if you’re looking for a specific player that doesn’t appear in your scouts’ Transfer Network.

Despite the new look and scouting system for the Career mode, the series still needs to address player communication. The morale system is inconsistent, particularly in relation to what the players tell you and what they do. For example, a low morale rating might make a player unhappy, but his form remains high and he doesn’t ask for the transfer that he’s been threatening all season. Furthermore, it seems to live in a vacuum. Low-rated players with no hope of seeing the starting 11 can complain like stars, while others are oblivious of the larger roster ramifications of new players on your roster. I’d also like to see players react to offers from outside clubs a lá this summer’s Luis Suárez, Wayne Rooney, and Gareth Bale melodramas.

Fatigue also isn’t realized, as you can play the same lineup – even with a schedule filled with domestic cups, international appearances, and other competitions – without the need for substitution. This undercuts the need for the lower end of your roster and therefore your youth system. These aren’t game-killers, but realizing them is like pulling back the curtain and uncovering less depth than you initially had hoped was there.

Going forward, apart from the issues needing correction listed above, it would be cool if the career mode continued to evolve; using FUT’s chemistry system and expanding your international manager duties to include player communication/morale and the ability to set up your own friendlies. I’d also like to be able to hire more staff for my club, like physicians to help keep my players avoid injuries and bounce back quicker when they have them.

Looking past such a calculating diagnostic, losing yourself in this game is still easy. The kinds of shots players get off are varied due to how they strike the ball (and with which foot), and the controls hit a sweet spot of being easy to pull off and capable of letting you engineer some incisive attacks. These aspects are not to be underestimated, as they give you confidence going forward and the ability to score from some new areas. Combine this with all the different game modes, and you have a title that can satisfy in many ways.

They say that athletes excel when they’re able to just execute on instinct. Regardless of its drawbacks, this game still lets you live in that moment and relish its qualities.

THE EDGE

Ultimate Team players will want to grab the Xbox One version of the game due to its exclusive Legend cards.

Presentation

While the graphics look as good as you'd expect, I was a little disappointed that the entire presentation package didn't make a bigger jump forward. You'll see new camera angles (like after goals, for instance) from time to time, but I was surprised there wasn't more.

The audio commentary missed some key opportunities to seize the moment during a derby or important transfer signing apart from a single comment sporadically similar to the current-gen version. There is no dynamic commentary building off of something that happened earlier in the match to create a running storyline.

The crowd is also relatively static; not understanding the opportunity to give a returning player now playing for the opposite side some serious grief.

Gameplay

FIFA 14 for the next-gen continues the good work done by the current-gen iteration when it comes to synching up players' footwork during shots to produce varied and realistic results. This footwork may prevent some of the slowdown in pace current-gen players experience when they sometimes receive the ball. The ball itself seems to act a little more free from players' feet – including taking some more dynamic, and even sometimes weird, bounces.

Despite these noticeable touches, there are enough problematic gameplay holdovers from the Xbox 360 FIFA that these additions don't move the needle enough.

Corners

Developer EA Canada claimed that the next-gen version of FIFA 14 would have more players contest for headers. While there are times when more than one player indeed jumps for a header on a corner, it's still not a real struggle. The extra players don't affect the ball, and I have the sneaking suspicion that the end result is pre-determined before anyone's feet leave the ground.

Kinect

You can now use the Kinect to sub in players. Say "Substitution," and a scroll will start along the bottom showing your players on the pitch and their pictures. Say the name of the player you want to replace, and then another scroll will start showing your players on the bench. It's handy not having to go into the menu system during a game. The Kinect also wasn't bad recognizing the names that I threw at it.

SmartGlass

FIFA 14 does not support SmartGlass.

Ultimate Team

The Xbox One version contains exclusive legend cards – a valuable addition if you enjoy the mode.